The Indiana Court of Appeals was divided Thursday over whether a Johnson County man convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old
girl deserved to have his sentence enhanced above the 30-year advisory sentence.

A man who argued that the Indiana Department of State Revenue should be sanctioned for allegedly producing his ex-wife’s
transmittal envelope for her tax return and passing it off as his own lost his case before the Indiana Tax Court Thursday.

The Indiana Court of Appeals disagreed with a woman’s argument that because she was twice granted extension of time
to respond to a summary judgment motion involving her credit card debt, the trial court’s discretion to consider a belated
response was preserved.

The Indiana Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a defendant’s claim that his attorneys were ineffective for not arguing
that, based on a Supreme Court case, his conviction for Class B felony criminal confinement should be reversed or reduced.
But the man inappropriately relies on the case, and what he claims his attorneys should have argued is not the law.

The $14.5 million defamation verdict awarded against State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. in favor of a contractor who accused
the insurer of defaming him remains in place after the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected the company’s claim that fraud
requires a new trial.

The Indiana Court of Appeals rejected a defendant’s claim that he should be given an opportunity to appeal his sentence,
an option he waived by entering into a plea agreement, even though the trial court erroneously indicated he had a right to
appeal and the state did not object to that advisement.

A Marion Superior Court erred when it granted a woman’s motion to vacate a hearing on contempt charges against her without
giving her ex-husband 15 days to file a response, as permitted under local rules, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

The decision to modify custody to give a father sole legal and physical custody of his 15-year-old son was not clearly erroneous,
the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled. In affirming the decision, the judges noted that the mother is overbearing and has forced
the teen to participate in activities he has little interest in.

Moving from Floyd County to Scott County so a woman could be closer to her work and live with her boyfriend is not in the
best interests of her two young children, the Court of Appeals ruled Friday. The judges affirmed the grant of father’s
request to modify custody and child support.

Failure in a notice of dissolution to describe information that must be included in a claim filed against the company does
not make the notice invalid, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. Since the notice was valid, a convenience store
owner’s lawsuit is time-barred.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against an appeal in a protracted case involving the sale of oil and gas leases in
efforts to recoup money for victims defrauded by First Choice Management Services. The judges held the company seeking to
intervene failed to do so in a timely manner.

The state presented sufficient evidence to support a man’s conviction of robbery, which was based on a theory of accomplice
liability, the Court of Appeals ruled. The charge stems from a home invasion in St. Joseph County during a family gathering.

A man who pleaded guilty earlier this year to dealing in oxycodone couldn’t convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that
his sentence should be reconsidered based on the revised criminal code that took effect July 1.

A trial court’s assessment of the public interest regarding whether a doctor is prohibited under a noncompete agreement
to practice within 25 miles of his former office in Rensselaer was contrary to law, the Indiana Court of Appeals held Wednesday.
The judges reversed the denial of a motion for a preliminary injunction preventing the doctor from opening a new practice
next door to his previous one.

If divorcing parties want to make judicial modification available for the maintenance agreements, they must say so in their
contract, the Indiana Supreme Court pointed out Tuesday. Because a divorced couple’s maintenance agreement allowed for
court intervention, the justices ordered the trial court to consider the wife’s request for modification.

The Indiana Supreme Court reversed summary judgment in favor of the state on its motion for forfeiture of cash found on a
man accused of dealing cocaine. The justices found the man’s “self-serving” affidavit specifically controverted
the state’s prima facie case that the cash was connected to drug crimes.

Tax Judge Martha Wentworth affirmed that a housing company in Bartholomew County failed to show that its rental properties
qualified for a charitable purposes exemption for the 2006 tax year. The judge denied granting Housing Partnerships Inc.’s
request for a rehearing.

Indiana’s assertion that preventing same-sex marriage encourages responsible procreation among heterosexuals was unequivocally
rejected Sept. 4 in a blistering opinion from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the state’s argument could
not be taken seriously.